Environmental Group Responds to BP Oil Spill
June 21, 2010
Nashville, TN — The Sustainable Tennessee coalition will discuss the Oil Spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and develop recommendations for actions Tennessee residents can take in response to this crisis at a meeting to be scheduled this August in Nashville.
“This is the one of worst environmental disasters our nation has faced, and it has direct impact for residents of Tennessee,” said Don Safer, Board Chair for the Tennessee Environmental Council. “Tennesseans are concerned and outraged about the situation. We have a huge number of residents who moved here after Hurricane Katrina, and many of us have family and friends in the Gulf area, so it is truly personal for us.”
Sustainable Tennessee was founded in 2007 and created a statewide Sustainability Agenda from the input of a broad coalition of citizens, conservation groups, environmental policy experts, elected officials, and representatives of private businesses, industry, and educational institutions. “We believe the crisis in the Gulf is a call to Tennesseans to be more serious about changing the way we live to a more sustainable lifestyle,” said Mary Mastin, Board Secretary, Tennessee Environmental Council, “And the Sustainable Tennessee Agenda is a roadmap to get there.” [Read more]
FDA and NOAA ramp up efforts to ensure Safety of Gulf of Mexico Seafood
June 15, 2010
Washington, DC — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are taking additional steps to enhance inspection measures designed to ensure that seafood from the Gulf of Mexico reaching America’s tables is safe to eat.
The federal government, in conjunction with Gulf States’ regulatory agencies, is playing an active role in ensuring the safety of seafood harvested from federal and state waters. The federal government, led by FDA and NOAA, is taking a multi-pronged approach to ensure that seafood from Gulf waters is not contaminated by oil. The strategy includes precautionary closures, increased seafood testing inspections and a re-opening protocol. [Read more]
